SAN FRANCISCO – Officials at Fort Bragg High School have caved and will allow a basketball team to wear “I Can’t Breathe” protest shirts during warmups at a tournament.

The school had originally banned the boys and girls basketball teams from Mendocino High School, saying they could not play because of the shirts, which are intended to bring attention to the death of Eric Garner. He died in an incident with police in New York City.

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The boys team agreed to not wear the shirts and were allowed to play. Too few girls players agreed and they were replaced with another team.

But Karen Boyd, a First Amendment lawyer who represents one of the players, intended to file a federal lawsuit against the school, arguing “that barring the shirts violated the free speech rights of student athletes,” according to The Sentinel.

The threat caused the school to give in and allow the players to wear the shirts, so long as they do not “cause problems.”

“This is always my preference, if we can get things worked out without a lot of court stuff,” Boyd says.

According to school district lawyer Patrick Wilson, Fort Bragg school district officials wanted to avoid the cost of a legal battle. But there is ongoing concern over the shirts because the community is still mourning the death of a local officer killed in the line of duty.

“The concern is, you are in a packed auditorium, this is a polarizing issue and it’s about something that happened in New York,” Wilson says, according to the Associated Press.

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“I think it’s fine for people to protest about it, but emotions are still raw in that area.”

The boys team played one game with two games remaining.

Members of the girls team protested outside the tournament.

“I’m so proud of them for becoming involved in these issues,” Jone Lemos, a mother of one of the female players, says. “On the other hand, I’m sad for them they weren’t able to play basketball because it’s one of the things they love to do and taking that away from them hurt.”